The Lullaby
by Mable
Summary: The Puppet thought it had escaped the trap set for it, but now the black bear has appeared once more, and Mike might be the only thing standing between it and its prey. With few options, Mike and Marionette must try to survive the night while alluding the trap and its insidious lullaby. (Sequel to the Alleyway and the Closet)
1. Chapter 1

**Happy Halloween! This is a sequel to The Alleyway and the Closet, so make sure to read both of those beforehand. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **The Lullaby**_

 _Chapter One_

* * *

 _The Puppet woke from his sedated stupor and realized he was being swallowed whole._

 _The darkness was closing in and there was only a small opening that was quickly closing. Now he realized with horror that he was being trapped inside. He couldn't remember what had gotten him here. There was a blackout where time was missing, but regardless he knew he was in danger. He had to get free._

 _In a frenzy he pressed his legs to the back of the cavity and shoved himself forward. His head went through first, freeing his mask from harm, then his arms followed as he clawed down at the exterior. Panicked chiming and rapid music spilled out of him as he become more aware of his situation. These warnings fell on deaf ears and his captor only noticed that he was beginning the free him. In response, his captor gave a soft shushing from the microphone clasped in its hand. It was like it believed that it could quiet him down and coax him back into its belly by that alone. He would not fall for it._

 _In a smooth motion he was out to his chest and pressed down, one hand on its belly, one on its gaping mouth, intending to free himself for good. Or he would've, if not for the opening suddenly closing on him. He could feel it tightening around his chest with an intense pressure as he continued trying to climb out. He was so close to freedom as the closure tightened on him. Something cracked deep inside Marionette's chest and his music cut off with a terrible wail. He hadn't felt that much pain since he had still been alive. Since he felt that agonizing pressure on his head. This time the pain wasn't halted by the mercy of unconsciousness._

 _For a few agonizing minutes he was trapped there in the opening. His chest pulsed in pain as the parts inside stuttered and cracked together. The bear held him tightly as it reached forward with its free hand and grabbed onto his wrist. It then started to open again so that it could force him back inside as it tugged back at his arm with another shush. It must've assumed that it had broken him enough to keep him in, but Marionette would not go quietly into the darkness._

 _All at once, he ignored the pain in his chest and shoved himself out, smoothly slid out of the bear, and collapsed to the floor in front of it. He then proceeded to crawl along the tile floor to get away from it. He couldn't levitate in such a damaged state and was in too much of a panic to even consider how pitiful it looked. The bear was trying to stand behind him to follow as he made it down the hall. He could see the back door and knew he could escape. It was so close._

 _He reached up for the knob as he heard footsteps closing in…_

With a breathy gasp of static, Marionette awoke on the couch, clutching a drawing pad so tightly that the papers crinkled underneath his fingers. He stared ahead at the television which was rattling out a commercial for some sort of laundry product. He recognized the sound of footsteps and sat upwards abruptly, looking down past the couch. Instead of the trap he expected to be approaching, there was Mike Schmidt, fully dressed in his uniform and entering the kitchen to pour a thermos of coffee. It had felt so real, but it was all a figment of the past.

In reality, it was just a normal evening at his new home and Mike was about to leave for work. The Puppet had been living with the security guard who rescued him for nearly two months now. After the first week or so they had bypassed the last of any barriers and had begun speaking to each other, and life together had only gotten more comfortable since then. Learning to deal with the memories of that horrible night had gotten easier with Mike's support and, within a few days, the Puppet had started to feel almost brand new. This was the first nightmare he had since then, and it felt confusingly out of place considering how much better he had been doing.

Trying to ignore it, he rose from the couch and followed Mike into the kitchen. During the week, the human had secured a security guard job at a nearby mall that stretched from ten in the morning to five in the evening. On the weekends, he worked a different security guard position from six to one in the morning, which was what he was getting ready for now. Marionette sidled beside him to watch as he closed the thermos.

"It should be an early night. If I'm lucky, I'll be out by Midnight and maybe we'll salvage the evening," Mike remarked. It was clear that he wasn't exactly thrilled about going in to work. He still managed to shoot the puppet a playful look. "Maybe we'll stay up the rest of the night watching whatever cheesy horror movie we can find on?" The Puppet trilled lightly and nodded, but he noticed something was amiss. "Something's up. You're not usually this silent. You okay?" Only then did the puppet realize that he hadn't said anything and corrected it.

"No," Marionette answered. Mike quirked a brow. "…By which I mean, no, nothing's wrong. I must've fallen asleep and I'm still a little… Sluggish." It wasn't entirely a lie, he had just chosen to leave out a few facts.

"Well, get your sleep now, because we might have a long night in store," Mike playfully remarked. At least he sounded to be in a good mood, and the prospect of a long evening together sounded nice. The Puppet wouldn't deny that he was very fond of Mike. So much so, in fact, that he had to fight the urge to stop him from leaving. He wanted to keep him to himself, but he knew that he couldn't, and instead escorted him to the door. "If something happens and I get stuck pulling an all-nighter, I'll ditch. So, in the meantime, try to take it easy."

Though with that comment alone- Marionette hesitated behind him- he knew that Mike must've realized everything wasn't well. The Puppet pulled himself together enough to slip forward and wrap his arms around his human companion, punctuating their goodbye in one last embrace. "Don't be too late," he murmured with a chime. "I get lonely without you."

He could hear Mike's heartrate start to quicken and trilled low in his chest. This had become a new habit, where when they got too close Mike's pulse would get faster. It certainly didn't feel like a frantic, frightened heartrate either. It gave Marionette ideas about a closeness that would never be but pleasant enough to imagine. Still, Mike returned with a one-armed embrace, and then was gone out the door. The Puppet was left alone.

The things Marionette did to pass the time were mundane. Yet after the history he had these basic things seemed so nice. Years ago, he had been able to give gifts to and entertain children, but that was lost when the toys were retired and deconstructed. Except himself, of course. Then he had spent years simply hiding in the cracks and crevices of the pizzeria as it reopened and closed, was repaired and fell apart, and hid without being seen so that he might survive another day. This meant that he had little time to do much other than wait for nighttime and even then, he needed to be careful.

In contrast, everything at Mike's apartment was a matter of choice. If he wanted to read, he could. If he wanted to draw, then he could do that too. If he wanted to watch people and cars pass by in the glow of the setting sun, then he could do that too. All these things seemed so inconsequential, but it was a matter of existing with the sole goal of being happy. No worrying about death or fear of being caught and dismantled, Marionette could exist quietly and comfortably, and that was something that he wanted for so long. After all, it was all a matter of buying time until his human companion got home.

And then midnight came.

The Puppet always got a buzz around Midnight. Like an animatronic second-wind that used to come when they were able to wander the pizzeria. Now, at the apartment, he was still capable of feeling it. This energy had turned into excitement and planning the evening that was sure to follow. Mike was a night owl, so he was sure to stay awake later than expected, and they could take careful advantage of that time. It was shortly after midnight and he was fussily moving things on the coffee table when he heard something peculiar.

It sounded at first like a distant chiming noise. Then it began to grow into music box music, which would have startled him if not for the song. Instead of the accursed one made to put him to sleep, it was a familiar tune that he recognized of somber hope. The saddened joy of when friends had to be separated and converted into a melody. He hadn't heard that song since the night that he had lost the others. It was the song of his friends and Marionette felt his strings tighten in longing as he realized what it meant. _She_ came back for him.

He didn't know what he would do, but he had to see her, and he promptly tossed aside the books in his hands and approached the window. He could hear her outside as he looked through the blinds.

…But it wasn't her standing on the sidewalk underneath the window. Illuminated in the glow of the streetlight was a black figure staring up with a single eye.

It was the black bear.

In an instant, the Puppet was broken from his trance and jolted back, landing on the couch. He crawled over it, over the armrest, and skirted into the bedroom where he proceeded to hide behind the bedroom door. The panic was immediate. He struggled to keep himself quiet and suppress any desire to scream in horror or static in warning. It was out there; the black bear had found him. He didn't know how it possibly could've or how nobody saw it on the road, but it was out there waiting for him. It was only now that he realized it had started the same trick as last time: coaxing him in with their song, using 'Grandfather's Clock' to incapacitate him, and then trying to trap him.

Now it stood outside and Mike was long gone. He was trapped. Worse still, Mike might've had an apartment on the second floor, but it was one that had been fashioned from a hotel and thus there were outside stairs that led right to the front door. If it had made it this far from Freddy's, then it could surely climb a set of stairs to get to him. The doors wouldn't hold it back. Panicked, he stayed still, waiting, and listened carefully as the music abruptly stopped. Now he didn't know where it was, and he was stuck in place. He was at the borderline of a breakdown once again; how could he fight something that could instantly put him to sleep and trap him?

Marionette had a horrible feeling that once it trapped him there would be no coming back out either. He would forever be confined in that accursed bear. That bear that was currently outside, that could be anywhere.

He didn't know how long it was before he heard something at the front door. In the dread he was in, Marionette could think of nothing more than escape, and quickly moved under the bed to hide. His internal works sputtered and ground together as he looked out from the safety of the floor. He could hear the front door easily open, he could hear the footsteps, and then he heard-.

"I'm home! Sorry I'm a little late, but I had to hang out until the next shift got there. They've been having a problem with kids spray painting the back of the building. Like a guy with a flashlight's going to stop them," Mike said as he shut and locked the door. He hung up his jacket and looked around. "Stripes?" The Puppet tried to speak, but all the came out was a garble of static and chimes. Thankfully Mike was at least able to locate him, as he sent a confused double take into the bedroom and then came in. He knelt and looked under the edge of the bed. "What's going on? Why are you under here?"

"Living room-!" Marionette choked out. "Living room- window- that way-!" The security guard did as told and headed out to the window and looked out.

"…I don't see anything," Mike called back. "Was someone out there watching the window or something?" Yet the Puppet was simply frantic about the fact that the bear was now gone. He clamored out from under the bed and rushed out beside Mike. He then began to stare through the window. There was nothing there.

"I-I saw it!" Marionette cried with growing static. He pointed at the spot where the black bear had stood. "It was right there! The black bear- the bear trap- it came back for me! The music-!" Then all at once, his voice was lost to the abrupt and rapid chiming of 'Pop Goes the Weasel', which managed to drown everything else out. Mike could only stare as the striped one began to move in circles, clutching his head, and slowly working himself into a fit. Then he decided to act.

"Hey, hey, easy," Mike coaxed as he reached for the Puppet's shoulders and stopped his frantic movements. "Let's just calm down for a second, okay? It's not out there now." The animatronic's music sputtered and skipped as its fear grew. "It's not outside the front door either, so whenever it is, it's not outside. Just sit down, okay?" While Marionette didn't want to sit, he did so at the human's insistence. He promptly clung to his companion's side and buried his mask into his shoulder. "Just tell me everything that happened, and we'll figure this out."

"I heard it playing music outside and saw it there, then I hid, and the music stopped," Marionette babbled out, "and you came home."

"Is there any chance that you could've seen a hallucination of it?" Mike was rewarded with what sounded like an exasperated huff. "I'm just asking because I've seen those working at Freddy's. I believe you saw it, but I wanted to make sure."

"It couldn't have been… At least… I don't think it could've been…" Yet as he thought of it further, maybe Mike was correct in questioning it. After all, how would a good sized animatronic walk all the way from Freddy's to here while completely unscathed? Someone would have noticed it. Even if this side of the apartment building was mostly vacant, there had to be cars driving around who could've spotted the bear on the side of the road. Not to mention how it could've tracked him this far. "Could I- Am I so unhinged that I could imagine that?!"

"Hey, I'm not unhinged, and I've seen eyeless Bonnie popping up in the pizzeria's office before," Mike pointed out. He could tell that the other was distressed and cupped his mask, raising it up so that the Puppet would look at him. "But I believe you. I don't want to, I don't want to even think of that thing out there, but I believe you. So… So, what we're going to do is shut the curtains, lock all the doors and windows, and I'm going to stay up as long as I can to keep an eye out."

He drew himself back from the Puppet's clinging grasp and went to make sure everything was locked. There were no signs of the black bear as Mike checked the windows and door. Even stepping out of the front door and looking around revealed nothing out of sorts. He couldn't hear any music either, which he took as a good thing. This didn't mean that he totally believed the bear was out there or not- he honestly wasn't certain either way- but it did mean that nothing was immediately breaking down the door. He locked the front door and headed back into the living room.

The Puppet was clutching one of the couch pillows tightly to his chest. The sheer stress portrayed on his mask showed that he had not calmed down at all. Mike sat down alongside him and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't see anything outside, so whatever it was it's gone now," he reassured. Dark fingers only dug tighter into the pillow as low static began to grow. "Let's just watch a movie and try to distract ourselves, alright?" the security guard offered as he turned on the television. He then began for something to ease the mood.

Needless to say, the night had been completely derailed. While Mike did stay awake with Marionette, it was clear that the animatronic was struggling to calm himself down. Though eventually it did start to grow easier, and that was only because he began to talk himself into the belief that maybe it had just been a hallucination. By time Mike had nodded off on the couch, Marionette was finally comfortable enough to be alone. He watched the television with limited interest before scooting closer and resting his head on the other's shoulder. Maybe he would rest too. Maybe he could let his guard down.

From his internal clock he knew if had just turned two when suddenly everything changed once more. The cheesy, soap opera like film that had come on the television was lulling him into a false sense of security. He turned his mask further into the human's shoulder and began to relax.

The moment he started to cross into sleep, he heard the music again, and it was louder than ever.

The Puppet straightened abruptly and pressed back into the couch as he looked around wildly. The music was nearby and, again, it was that familiar tune trying to coax him in. He wouldn't fall for it a third time.

" _It's all in your head. It's all just a nightmare,"_ he tried to rationalize. The sound of heavy footsteps only punctuated the music and he looked towards the front door. The sound of his own music started to grow, and he struck his own chest to stop it. It barely managed to work- in all honesty, he might've only regained silence was out of the fear of being spotted. His mind was racing; he wanted to wake up Mike, but he now couldn't be sure if it was in his head or not. He heard something shuffling outside the front door and finally broke down. Silently, he grabbed Mike's shirt and shook his frantically.

Mike woke up with a sputter. "What- What's going on?!" he blurted out along with a groggily confused look. He straightened and looked to Marionette, confusion and maybe the slightest bit of accusation in his gaze. Marionette tried to speak, but his defenses were too high, and his voice had been stolen. Mike looked like he was about to question him, mouth opening to speak and brows furrowed, but he didn't.

Instead, the security guard slowly turned his head. His gaze crossed the living room before looking back towards the front door. It was now that the Puppet's horror increased tenfold, because he knew the human heard it too.

Slowly, quietly, Mike rose from the couch and started to approach the front door. There was a low thump from beyond it, along with the continuing music box melody trickling through. His footsteps were just quiet enough to not be detected while his own breathing sounded so loud in his ears. He then leaned in and peered through the peephole. A black bear with a single eye stared back.

Most of Mike's thoughts were overtaken by as many swears as he could fit into them. He took a hesitant step back. " _It's a recolored Freddy! How in the hell did that thing even get here?!"_ the man silently asked as he took another step. The floor squeaked underneath his foot. Immediately there was a heavy thump on the door. The bear heard him and now it wanted inside. Frantic, Mike turned to Marionette and silently pointed to the bedroom. The Puppet vanished from the spot.

" _How the-?!"_ Looking back, Mike could now see Marionette in the bedroom, pressed back near the windows. _"What- Forget it! Focus, Schmidt!"_ Another loud bang shook the door which wobbled flimsily. It wasn't going to hold, and Mike quickly hurried into the bedroom before shutting and locking the bedroom door. He then made a move for the closet, which the Puppet quickly moved inside of and huddled into the back of. "You just stay here and hide," Mike whispered as he moved things around. He then found what he was looking for: his crowbar. The weight of it in his hand with a comfort. "I'll listen at the door."

Marionette grabbed his wrist and shook his head. It was clear that he didn't want Mike to leave.

"I need to listen to where it is, and if it gets in here I can fight it back," he assured as he lifted the crowbar. If anything, Marionette only looked more horrified by the prospect. "While I distract it, you need to get out-." A loud banging interrupted him as the front door was broken in. The security guard winced at the sound; it was just as powerful as the other animatronics were. Mike slowly opened his eyes again to look down at Marionette. He was trembling in fear and purple tears were beginning to bubble forth. They had only started a few moments before, so he didn't know if it was because the bear broke in or the worry over his human.

Mike pointed into the bedroom and mouthed, _"The window."_ He had a bad feeling that even though he said this, the Puppet wouldn't leave like he insisted. He then straightened and quietly approached the door to listen in closely.

There were heavy footsteps as the bear came into the apartment and wandered closer to the bedroom door. Mike bit down on his lip until his dried lips started to crack. It was closing in and he tightened his hands on his crowbar, waiting for it to try and barge through. It was so close that he could hear the static on the music box recording. It was so close; it could sense him. It was as though it could hear the purple tears beginning to roll down his mask.

But then it started to grow quieter as the bear turned and walked away. It was only once he heard it knocking over a glass that they realized it had bumped the coffee table. It was entering the living room. Licking his lips to try and wet them, Mike unlocked the door and inched it open. He could see the shadow of the bear from the lamp light and took a step out to peer around. The black bear was standing in front of the couch, staring at the corner by the window, where Marionette had previously been sitting. It was then that Mike had an idea. He slipped back into the bedroom and rapidly beckoned the Puppet.

The last thing the animatronic wanted was to go anywhere near the trap. Yet Mike kept beckoning insistently and finally the striped being slipped out and came closer. He clung onto the security guard's arm as he started to inch out. The bear was still staring towards the window, so this was the only chance they had to escape. He stared to lead the animatronic carefully towards the front door. The Puppet clung tightly, pressing his mask into the back of Mike's shoulder, and the human kept his crowbar close. Baby steps towards the front door, which was left agape, watching as the black bear twitched in place.

The car keys were sitting on the counter. Being a typical countertop, there was little doubt that the keys could make noise against it while lifted. He took a deep breath and pushed Marionette along without him. The animatronic was reluctant but did as the human insisted and backed towards the front door as Mike reached for the keys. He laid his hand on them and slowly closed his fingers on them, then lifted them with only the slightest jingle. The bear's head and neck jostled in a way that didn't seem natural and the human drew back his arm. He only noticed his container of pens and pencils when his elbow hit it and knocked it over.

The black bear turned on him and stared at the human. He vaguely noticed its yellow eye move to focus past him. As soon as it fell on Marionette, the black bear rushed them.

The thundering footsteps seemed too quick for the awkward body. It would be on them in seconds. Mike turned, dashing after the Puppet, and shoved the keys into his hand.

"Hurry! Get to the car!" Mike commanded. In an instant Marionette was over the railing and dropped to the first floor, where he rushed to the car. The security guard hurried down the staircase. At the bottom, he was greeted with a garbled screech, and looked back to see the black bear at the top of the steps. It dove down the stairs- not falling, but pouncing- and he barely scrambled out of the way as its heavy body landed in a heap. Mike made a break for the car. It was already unlocked and with the key in the ignition, with the Puppet in the passenger's seat. The 'Pop Goes the Weasel' returned and he was staring back at the bear.

The human got in and immediately threw it in reverse. The bear had gotten to its feet by then and was at the car's side in second. It landed a heavy blow on the driver's side window, fracturing it in a web of cracks, before the car careened out of reach. In moments the car was peeling down the road, with Mike checking the mirror as the Puppet looked out the back.

"Is it following us?! I can't see it!" Mike asked.

"Sti- Still foll-…" Marionette struggled to get his voice pulled together. "Still-! Try- Trying-!"

"Then we'll lose it!" The security guard took a sharp left and was soon heading deeper into town. Within a few moments he looked back and couldn't see the bear but kept driving ahead. It was a good five minutes of driving around before the silence was broken.

"What are we going to do?" Marionette quietly asked. "It knows where we live…"

"Which sucks, because someone's going to loot my apartment now. I hope that bear at least sticks around and keeps watch," Mike muttered. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Puppet drop his head into his hands. "Hey, don't worry. Worst case scenario, they'll take the TV. We'll get insurance to replace it."

"Mike!" the Puppet cried brokenly with exasperation. He looked to the human with desperation. His mask was still stained and he still looked shaken. "Mike, right now?!"

"…Sorry." Mike was taken off-guard by the scolding. For a second, he could only stare back, but then returned to looking out at the road. The pinpricks of light in the animatronic's eyes flickered over the human before reading his body language. He immediately felt so much worse. Even though fearful and panicked, there was still guilt.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm just… I'm just not… Handling this well…" He looked down into his lap and shuddered. "I-I never thought it would find me, let alone come for me." Tears landed on his legs. "What do I do now?"

"Well, for one, we're not returning to the apartment," Mike assured. He had quickly brushed off the other's previous outburst. "We'll find somewhere else to hide out for the night. I can guarantee that thing won't be walking around by morning. We just have to make it tonight and then tomorrow I'll… I'll figure something out. If I got to take this crowbar back to Freddy's and shove it up the boss'- I will find a way to stop this godforsaken bear." He then dropped the crowbar between the seats and looked around at the town. They returned to silence for a few moments before the Puppet looked over.

"Mike… You don't have to deal with this. You've done so much for me… The bear doesn't want you! He wants me! If I… If I left, then you would be safe."

"We're not doing that," Mike shot down immediately. The Puppet seemed surprised by this and Mike glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "…Look, I…I care about you too much to abandon you now. As far as I'm concerned, you and I are in this together, no matter what that freakish bear does." There was his heart pounding again, but this time he wouldn't let it subdue him at all. He needed to say this. He reached out to grab for the Puppet's hand and take it in his own, to show the sincerity he couldn't with his eyes on the road. "I'm going to guard you with my life, Mari. I promise I'll keep you safe."

There was a moment of quietness. Then Marionette's hand squeezed his. "Mike…" His tone sounded thankful and naturally Mike expected the thanks. So, he was caught off guard when instead the Puppet said, "You're wonderful."

All at once a flood of warmth and endorphins spread down Mike's spine. It was a completely different kind of sensation than he expected, but something about hearing that- about how much adoration poured from the other's voice- made him feel exhilarated. It contrasted strangely with the direness of the situation. Something was trying to hunt down and trap Marionette and it wasn't afraid of tearing through Mike in the process, yet here he was standing loyally beside the Puppet, and he wanted nothing in return. He was risking his life to protect his animatronic. Perhaps he did care too much.

He had to try and get ahold of himself. "On the plus side, I haven't had a good adrenaline rush in a few weeks. Maybe this'll pull me out of my rut," Mike jokingly remarked. This got a light chime of amusement out of the Puppet, who still held onto his hand as though holding onto his last shred of sanity. The security guard looked away and back to the road. Back to reality and to the task of finding someplace where they could go. Then it struck him at once that there was only one option. "I have an idea of where to go, but it means we're going to have to get chummy with a friend of mine."

The Puppet's hand tightened. He didn't exactly like the idea of presenting himself to a human who he didn't trust. It wasn't as though he could protest when they were already out of options.

"His name is Fritz and he used to work at Freddy's, so he knows about animatronics, and he knows about you because I needed his help in repairing you. He's got a house with a guest room, he lives alone, he's not going to turn us in to anyone; Fritz is our best option," Mike listed out.

"Oh… Him," Marionette said unenthusiastically. The security guard recognized that unenthused, though knowing tone.

"You remember Fritz?" he asked in confusion.

"He used to work the nightshift before the pizzeria was closed down and I was taken to be dismantled with the other Toy animatronics. I only vaguely remember him, but I assume he remembers me." How could he trust a man who thought he was a monster? Or how could a nightguard trust an animatronic that hunted him? He doubted Fritz was as understanding as Mike, and probably was apathetic to the business' crimes and cover ups if he had worked there long enough. He tightened his hand on Mike's. "He may not be as welcoming to me. While he was working there I and the other animatronics believed he was the murderer."

"He'll welcome us in, trust me. Fritz might've been oblivious to the situation before, but its become pretty clear that Freddy's shady past goes beyond animatronics. It roots itself directly into the owners. Hell, rumors are one of them died in a suit accident and was sealed up in a back room somewhere to hide the evidence!" The Puppet stayed silent. "If I have to pay Fritz to get him to agree then I will. He won't turn us away." Or he hoped not, because eventually he would have to stop and get gas and he didn't really want to stop the car with the bear prowling the streets.

Marionette leaned closer, still holding Mike's hand, and pressed his mask into the human's upper arm. His free hand also slid around the arm to hold him closer. Mike looked down at him sympathetically.

Even if Fritz didn't turn them away, there was a very real threat that could be following them even now, and Mike had no idea on how to stop it.


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Lullaby**_

 _Chapter Two_

* * *

It didn't take more than a few minutes to drive to Fritz's home. The technician had a nice enough house from what Mike had seen when he had visited once or twice. It was a single floor home but had a fully furnished basement that very much replaced the lack of a second floor. It would certainly be big enough to fit guests. Mike pulled up outside of the closed garage and turned off the car.

"So… I didn't bring my jacket or anything to cover you up with and the porch light's on, so for about a minute or two- depending how long it take Fritz to sulk to the door- you might be in plain sight," Mike forewarned the animatronic. "You want to wait in the car or come up with me?" The hands tightened on his arm in an answer.

"At this point, I don't care if I'm seen…" Marionette murmured. Though then he gave a thoughtful hum and his tone lightened. "…Though I should warn you that if I'm stared at by complete strangers I have a tendency to freeze up."

"Good thing that Fritz isn't a stranger," Mike cheekily added. He then started to get out of the car, with Marionette fluidly following him out. He kept a firm grasp on Mike's arm and looked around in paranoia.

Thankfully, Fritz lived in a neighborhood where the houses were spaced apart a little more than the typical suburb. There were also plenty of trees planted around the neighboring homes. They were short and not too thick, but perhaps helped in shielding him. Alas, they also blocked the view from the black bear, which could be anywhere. His paranoia was strong even as Mike knocked on the front door. When Fritz didn't come fast enough, he knocked louder, then nearly started braying down the door in the hopes that the other would wake. Eventually, he heard hurried footsteps from the back.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" the man called from inside. He then opened the front door with an exhausted look and a, "Mike, what-?" He then did a double take, stared at the animatronic currently standing alongside Mike, and got a deer in headlights look. Mike knew he was going to shut the door and jammed his foot forwards to catch his shoe in the door.

"Oh no, you're not," Mike remarked. He nearly pushed his way in and allowed the Puppet past before slamming and locking the door. "Before you say anything, there is a rabid, one-eyed black bear that broke into my apartment, broke my car window, and is probably right now prowling the streets looking for us. We have nowhere else to turn to. You are the last chance we've got."

Fritz looked between the two, still looking equally unnerved, and then cautiously asked. "Shouldn't you call animal control about that?"

Mike ran a hand down his tired face. "No, Fritz, it's an animatronic black bear. It broke down our door." The technician's eyes widened, and the security guard's tone grew quieter in desperation.

"Look, I'm pretty sure I know what happened between you and him a couple of years ago," Mike remarked as he pointed to Fritz and the back at the Puppet. "But we have to put that behind us. This is a crisis." The two exchanged a look. Fritz was obviously uneasy about the animatronic sent him, and the flat default smile it used to cover up actual emotions, but he continued listening. Maybe it was because Mike was always so honest and seldom fooled.

It was then that the Puppet tugged at Mike's arm to draw him closer. He leaned in beside him and spoke quietly enough that the technician couldn't hear. In any case, Mike could barely hear it.

"You can tell him everything, Mike," Marionette whispered. "I'd rather he know what the beartrap did to me than us being sent out there again." Mike almost cringed at that, though did briefly grit his teeth, exhaled, and looked to Fritz.

"Look, let's just… Get out of the entranceway, and I'll explain the whole deal with this bear… Maybe I could sit down and get a glass of water or something?" the security guard asked.

"Uh… Yeah, sure. This way." Fritz stiffly led them down the short hall to the living room, which was connected to the dining room and had its back to the kitchen. Both Mike and Marionette focused quickly on the large windows that stared into the darkened space behind the house. Mike still made the motion to sit down on the couch and tugged the Puppet down beside him.

"It's okay. It's still probably halfway across town," the man assured his companion. The animatronic was hesitant, but also weary, and sunk into the sofa alongside him. Fritz returned shortly and handed over the water. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. So… What is this with this black bear?" he asked as he sat down in chair that matched the couch. He watched them intently, either out of interest or dread.

"Ugh, where do I even begin?... I guess, at the beginning. Or the beginning that I know of," Mike remarked as he glanced to the Puppet. Marionette gave an encouraging nod. "Right before I was let go someone brought in this recolored Freddy into the pizzeria. I'm guessing it used music to coax him in and then tried to trap him inside of it. It was when he was escaping that trap that he got injured. Tonight, the bear popped up at our place and broke down the front door." Still looking at Fritz with cold determination, Mike reached to the side to take the Puppet's wrist in a reassuring hold. "We can't let that bear get Marionette."

Fritz was staring with wide eyes. He slowly raised a hand to cough into, clearing his throat. "No, I… Look, everything in the past set aside, that frankly sounds _horrifying_ … But it makes sense." Mike raised a brow questioningly. "I mean, we knew that something must have crushed… Him? Him, okay. Him. Something must have crushed him, but we didn't know what. Though now that this came out I kind of wish it was just a bad boxing incident."

"Now that the bear trashed my car, yeah, I would've preferred a packing malfunction too," Mike pointed out. He then hesitated a moment before looking confused. "You're still working over there. You see anything about a black bear?"

"No. I don't even work at Freddy's anymore. I'm holding some stuff for them, but I've been taken off the payroll… Sorry I can't be any more help. Believe me, I wouldn't cover for Freddy's now. You know they skipped out on my last paycheck?" While Fritz was aghast at this, Mike was pretty much unsurprised by it. "But I wasn't the one who packed up and shipped off the old animatronics. I don't know who they had to do that or where they went, but there wasn't a black bear… Nobody was asking about _him_ either, but I didn't even know he was there."

It almost felt like they were at a dead end. Mike was hoping that there would be some sort of answer to the black bear or a quick fix that they could use to stop it. Elsewise, it could very well come after them again.

"You look terrible," Fritz said as he looked over the night guard.

"Gee, thanks. As though I didn't feel bad enough without thinking of how I looked," Mike muttered as he sipped more water.

"What I meant is that you really need to get some rest. Probably him too, if slumping over like a ragdoll is any indication," Fritz pointed out. Mike looked at Marionette beside him and could see that the animatronic was nearly collapsed against him. The human exhaled slowly while the technician stood from his seat. "You can stay here as long as you need to. The guest rooms are right downstairs, here." He then headed towards the stairs and headed down into the lower floor to make sure everything was ready in the rooms.

Meanwhile, Mike lightly nudged the Puppet, who raised his head slowly. It was now clear that it wasn't tiredness, but dread that was causing him to slump. "Hey, let's try to get some sleep while we can," he suggested. The animatronic nodded in agreement and rose from the couch. Before Mike could stand, Marionette slid his own hand easily into his. Mike looked up in confusion and the Puppet, who looked exhausted, glanced down at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Stay close to me. The worst mistake we can make is getting lured into a false sense of security," he quietly warned. It was a somber reminder about their situation and Mike nodded in agreement. He then stood and followed along behind to the stairwell. The Puppet hurried to float down them and kept watching and listening carefully.

The lower level didn't look like one would expect a basement to look. It was furnished nicely, with even a small kitchenette at the bottom of the steps and a hallway leading down to what looked like another living room. It was there when they ran back into Fritz, who was stepping out of one of the guest rooms.

"Alright, so I've got two rooms. Neither have windows, so if the bear comes back-…" He hesitated to glance down at their conjoined hands. It was clear that he was thinking something, and Mike had a feeling that whatever it was would probably be uncomfortable if questioned. Yet he stood through it as Fritz raised a brow questioningly, looked back to him, and then surprisingly let it go. "So, if _the bear comes back_ it won't be able to break in."

"Thanks for this. I know the last thing you wanted was to get dragged into this in the middle of the night, but I appreciate it," Mike honestly thanked. His relief came through clear and his pride all but fizzled out.

"Don't mention it," Fritz answered with a slight smile. He then headed by towards the stairs. "Now I'm going to try and get some sleep, fail miserably, and spend the rest of the night staring outside looking for Freddy Fazbear's violent cousin." Soon the technician was heading up the steps, probably to retreat from the situation entirely. The security guard waiting until he was gone before speaking.

"Come on," he coaxed with a small tug and led Marionette into the furthest bedroom with him. "I'm not letting you out of my sight just yet." Even though still on edge, Marionette couldn't help but give a low warble.

The guest room was rather self-explanatory. There was a bed topped with a checkerboard printed comforter. There was a nightstand with nothing on it, not even a lamp, and a small modern-looking wardrobe to replace a closet. It was still larger than Mike's own bedroom, but it was also emptier, and was lacking most character. It didn't help that the picture on the wall were muted watercolors showing rainy images of city streets; the dreariness seemed uncomfortably appropriate considering the evening that they were having. The salt in the wound was when Mike sat down and realized immediately that the bed was more comfortable than his own.

"Which of us takes the first shift?" he joked as he laid back across the bed. Or it was almost a joke, but he had feeling that they would be staying awake most of the night keeping guard in case the bear returned. He looked towards Marionette, who was now sitting between the pillows with his back against the headboard. His legs were drawn to his chest and his arms crossed around them. Mike changed tactics and assured him, "We'll be fine now. We don't have too much longer before morning and then we'll be on the right track… Or at least, we'll sleep pretty well."

For a little while they sat there in silence. Mike was too alert to sleep, so he just stared at the ceiling fan as he allowed his body to rest from its adrenalin high. Then the Puppet looked to him again. He relaxed his grip on himself and watched the human with growing curiosity. There were some questions that he never asked him. Usually to not dredge up bad memories, but by now they had surely surfaced on their own.

"Mike… Why did you start working at Freddy's?" Marionette asked. A strange sort of look briefly passed Mike's face. It almost looked somber or perhaps just too stern for his usual demeanor. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, that's okay. It's a good question. Why would someone willingly go back to Freddy's over and over again?" Mike asked vaguely. He looked over towards the animatronic who was still watching him with a slight tilt of the head. "I kind of got stuck with it. I lost my parents in a car accident when I was just a kid and moved from relative to relative for a long while. I left as soon as I could to strike out on my own. It was great to be on my own at first, but it didn't take long before I was pretty much broke. I needed a second job and Freddy's was the only place that would fit with my day job. So, I took the job."

"I'm sorry for your loss. You've been through so much more than I realized with how well you have yourself together," Marionette sympathized. Mike wasn't sure if he agreed. Sure, it had been rough, but he always considered himself lucky to make it back on his feet. "And working with the animatronics? You never seemed afraid of me. I think we can both tell that Fritz still is." This roused a light chuckle.

"After working at Freddy's this long, it's hard to get spooked. Especially since you're not exactly scary," Mike playfully teased with a flash of a smile. "I'm pretty sure they hated me, but I kept coming back, and every night I was bullfighting for a paycheck. Occasionally I was fired and like clockwork they'd call me back in when they couldn't get a replacement. I don't think they wanted me to figure out about some of their secrets: the missing children, the Bite of 87, whatever happened to the Phone Guy… It didn't take long to start connecting the dots. I should've been scared off then, but I was almost in too deep."

"I certainly know that feeling," Marionette remarked with a chime of amusement. "Freddy's has a way of trapping people in and refusing to let them go."

"That's a serious understatement." Mike now realized that he knew very little of the Puppet sitting beside him. He knew his personality, he knew his likes and dislikes, and plenty of things about him, but little about his life before they met, and absolutely nothing about his life as a human. "What about you? How did you get stuck into Freddy's? You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

"No, I would like to tell you. Especially now that you told me about you. I should return the favor," he insisted. Meanwhile, Mike pulled up onto his side so that he could watch him. His unquenchable thirst for the secrets of Freddy's reared its ugly head and he tried to force it back as he watched attentively. "I spent most of my childhood in Freddy's and I absolutely hated the place. Already back then there were rumors and… Suspicious circumstances. I'll leave it at that." He managed to keep a light tone regardless of the dark subject matter he began to unveil.

"I was a terribly miserable child. I was scared of everything, I cried all the time, and I had few friends. All I wanted was to stay away from Freddy's, but my father worked there, so I spent most of my days- and all my birthdays- staring at a clunky old Fredbear animatronic. You think Freddy was cumbersome and unnerving? You should have seen Fredbear! Twice the size, dozens of springlocks, and his teeth- believe me, the teeth were un _bear_ able."

"That was one hell of a time to add in a pun," Mike pointed out in amusement. Marionette chimed lower in amusement. "I don't want to make this weird, but how did you…?" He rolled his wrist to try and make a gesture to replace the awkward words that he didn't want to say. The Puppet caught on and was slightly amused. It was a dark amusement and usually he would discuss it, but Mike had been so honest that he decided to continue.

"The animatronics used to be left unattended during the day. This meant that children could easily get too close. Accidents could happen." Mike's brows furrowed as he noticed the familiarity. "You mentioned the Bite of 87?"

Slowly, Mike's eyes widened, and he straightened more in shock. "Wait a minute, you're saying that you-."

"I'm not sure where the rumor that it was Foxy came from," Marionette off-handedly remarked. "His involvement would've been minimal."

"God, that makes that bear pun so much worse," Mike blurted out before thinking. Then he thought about it for a moment. "But I thought the bite wasn't fatal."

"It wasn't fatal… At first. It took a few days. No longer than a week, I suppose. I can't say, because I don't remember it." Marionette gave a slight shrug. "But alas, that is my tragic tale. My cross to bear, if you would. I don't think about that anymore… Or I've thought about it less. Honestly, I've been so happy living with you that I haven't had time to dwell on Freddy's." He sent Mike a warm smile. Yet it was also sad. Not sad for the past or for their trials, but for the life they were about to lose.

"I see that look," Mike interrupted. Marionette looked back to the man again. "That spiral of despair look. Trust me, we're not desperate enough for that look yet. Maybe when we were driving in the car with no idea where we were going, but not now when we've crashing at a place that's at least five times the size of our crummy apartment." He then moved to lay beside the animatronic, propping himself slightly on the pillow and folding his arms under his head. "Maybe change the topic off of Freddy's."

"Isn't that ironic," Marionette quipped with him amusement returning, if a little forced. "We were just talking about getting stuck in Freddy's. Old habits die hard, don't they?" He gave another chime as he nudged the human with his elbow. Just that playful look was enticing, and Mike couldn't help but say the first thing that came to mind.

"You're cute, you know that?"

The Puppet went completely still and stared down at the human. From his frozen smile it was obvious that he was surprised by the comment. Which of course he was; Mike had certainly thought all these things but had never said it out loud. He couldn't imagine what cocktail of sleep deprivation and adrenaline he had needed to blurt out something like that. Mike should've probably apologized and took it back, but he didn't. For some foolish reason he stood behind this relatively unimportant statement. He waited for a reaction.

Then the Puppet gave one. He slowly shifted closer, watching Mike's face carefully, and then started to slowly lower beside him. He rested his head on Mike's chest and gave a small trill as he wrapped his arms tightly around him. He could hear his heartbeat slightly quick and gave a content trill, which evolved into a warble when the human started to return the gesture. Mike pulled the slender being against him. He could feel the chiming vibrating through the Puppet's back, tingling into his fingers, and it comforted him more than anything else. His body felt heavy and his eyes started to close.

"Yeah, you're adorable," Mike added. He gave a low chuckle and could feel Marionette pressing in tighter. His fingers tightened into the human's shirt as he rubbed his mask into the fabric. Mike lost all his vocal filter. "You are hands down the best thing that came out Freddy's. I'm not letting you go so quickly."

"You'd have trouble getting rid of me,~" Marionette trilled back. It was almost jarring to hear the flirtatious tone instead of the fearful one from earlier. Maybe this was a sign that the night was over. "Let me get the lights." The Puppet languidly raised a hand and the lights flicked off. "Goodnight, Mike…" There was something else that he wasn't saying, but Mike didn't press.

Instead, the two started to slip into the rest they needed. Together they had made it this far and now they seemed safe enough to let their guard down. For the first time that evening, they felt safe.

Upstairs, Fritz was still awake. He had been too wired by the arrival of Mike and the Puppet to sleep. Especially hearing about this alleged black bear animatronic. He was soon gripped by curiosity and then was in his closet, where he had stored the boxes he was asked to hold from Freddy's. One of them contained blueprints and he was set to find both the bear's and the Puppet's. As it was, Fritz didn't entirely trust the Puppet- it could still sneak up and strangle him in his sleep- but its behavior did give of the illusion of something that was frightened. If an animatronic was afraid then there was a reason.

It took a long while of searching, but Fritz soon found both blueprints for the Puppet and for the black bear. He only recognized it because of its one defunct looking eye, as the blueprints couldn't show color. "Here we go… Wait, what is this?" Fritz asked in confusion. He expected to see the usual name, like 'Toy' Freddy, or 'Funtime', 'Celebration', 'Spring', something proceeding the Freddy's name. It was supposed to be just another Freddy's, but it obviously wasn't from the name.

"L.E.F.T.E. Lefty? Lure, encapsulate, fuse, transport, extract… Wait a minute… What is this?" Fritz read over it again. "Mike was right, this bear is made to capture _something_." He looked over the comments on the blueprints. One of which mentioned a 'Dream Wand Soother'. "Lullaby index could be the music box. Steady voltage, ouch. And… Bracelet code and receiver frequency." He checked the Puppet's blueprint and tightened his jaw. "Yeah, that all checks out. Definitely made to hunt down the Puppet…" He tapped his fingers on the blueprint thoughtfully. "…But why? Who would want to catch the Puppet if it was-."

A loud bang interrupted his thoughts. Fritz's head snapped back, and he looked out of the closet door. He paused a moment, waiting, and then started to slowly raise from his sitting position as he approached the door. There was another bang and he peered out of the closet, through the open bedroom door, and into the living room. His eyes widened as he saw the source of the noise.

Standing out in the darkness was the dark form of an animatronic bear. Its head was hunched forwards and it stared upwardly with a gaping mouth. One yellow eye stared up with a dead and dazed look while the other was blackened out. It was knocking its fist against the glass of the back door innocently enough. But then it drew back and brought down its fist heavily, and the technician could hear the glass crack. He stared in horror and tried to think of whether or not he still had a taser somewhere in the house.

Then, all at once, the fist came down and this time broke through. The glass panes shattered, and it reached though to grab the doorknob. Its large, clumsy hand couldn't unlock the door. It quickly gave up and began to break through the remaining glass and wood pieces. Any courage Fritz had fell through as he shut the closet door to hide. Being a walk-in closet gave him more room, but the door did not lock, and he was forced to keep it shut by holding it. The sound of breaking glass and wood continued until he could hear the distant sound of footsteps. It was crossing through the living room; it had no interest in him.

Marionette awoke the moment he heard breaking glass. He sat upwards on the bed as pinprick pupils glowed and looked towards the door. Something was in the house. The motion roused Mike, who began to sit upwards as well.

"What is it?" Mike asked groggily. He sobered up quickly when he heard a louder crack from above. His eyes widened as he blurted out, "It found us?! How in the hell did it find us?!"

"It's tracking me," Marionette murmured back. He shuddered as he felt the urge blare music of warning, but he knew it would do nothing. Fear soon followed, and his voice began to crack and fail. "Wh-What do we do?! Wh-re do we go?! It'll keep- it'll keep- it'll keep-!"

"Calm down. I can't have you breaking down on me," Mike half-said and half-begged as he took the Puppet's shoulders. "Now that thing's not in here yet, right? We'll just sneak out the front door, get into the car, and _drive_."

"Where?!" Marionette whispered in growing panic. "Where- Where can we- Where can we g-go?!" His voice devolved into static and dialing noises.

"Anywhere. We'll just drive. I've got an uncle living up north in the city, I've got cash, we got a car. we'll just go far enough that it can't follow," Mike assured. He hated the prospect of abandoning Fritz, but he had a suspicion that he would be fine, as the bear would follow the Puppet back out of the house. He got off the bed, grabbing Marionette's arm, and felt his way through the dark to the bedroom door. They were stepping through when the noises changed to footsteps crossing through the living room above. "Damn it, it's inside!" Mike hissed.

Marionette gave a panicked garble and started to retreat. However, Mike grabbed his wrist to stop him and drew him back. "Don't run, I have a plan…" he looked back to the animatronic. "You can still teleport right?" The striped one hesitated. "I saw you do it once. You can do it, right?" Finally, the other gave a shaky nod. "Alright… Then here's the plan: you hide and I'll hide… And I'll distract the bear so that you can teleport upstairs." The animatronic got a panicked look and grabbed onto his wrist with both hands. "Then I'll run upstairs after you. It might chase me, but it's going to be looking for you."

It was clear that the Puppet was reluctant as he didn't want to leave Mike. However, before they could even argue, there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Mike looked around before pulling him behind one of the couches. Once crouched down, he whispered to him, "I'll run out, get the bear to chase me, lock myself in a bedroom, and while he's with me you teleport upstairs. He'll follow you back up, I'll come up, we'll meet at the car." Finally, the Puppet gave a nod of agreement.

Mike leaned over to peer around the couch. He could see the black bear start around the corner. It raised its head and a single yellow eye stared down towards the living room. It then rolled around, searching, and Marionette gave a shudder. Programming was trying to coax him in, but he fought it by holding onto the security guard's arm. Then, suddenly, the black bear must've decided that it didn't want to risk another escape. It raised the hand that clutched a microphone tightly in it and suddenly music started to pour forth.

'My Grandfather's Clock' began to fill the room. Mike felt a growing sense of dread, especially when he noticed the Puppet's hands loosening. Slowly the animatronic started to slide down towards the floor and the security guard just barely grabbed him before his mask could hit and either get damaged or alert the bear. " _We're dead if I don't do something about that music! Running isn't going to do a thing if Mari can't move…"_ Mike looked again and watched as the bear started to lumber closer it was walking to the left of the furniture, behind the other sofa, and would soon close in. _"If it's coming from that microphone it's toting around…"_

Gently letting the Puppet down, Mike made his decision to act, and had a horrible suspicion that he would live to regret it. He quickly crawled towards a nearby table, unplugged a small lamp on it, and then rose from the ground with only it as a at once Mike jumped up and sprinted around the other side of the couch.

"Over here!" he called, catching the bear's attention. It turned on him with what almost seemed to be a dead stare. It had seemed so concerned by him earlier that its disinterest almost surprised the security guard. Then again, those times he had Marionette in sight. He used this to his advantage and charged in. As the bear reached for him with its free hand, Mike smashed the lamp into its face. It staggered for a moment but seemed almost entirely everything, Mike grabbed at the microphone and started to yank. The bear had a vice grip and he turned himself, getting ahold of the microphone and slipping it partially free.

Instead of being bolted into the fingers it was simply attached somewhere by wires. The other hand landed on his chest and suddenly slammed him back into the wall behind the couch. The air was knocked out of his lungs and Mike wheezed. He still didn't let go of the music making microphone and only tugged it harder until the wires snapped. Fabric fingers wrapped around his throat and tightened until he couldn't breathe. In a moment of panic, Mike thrust the microphone into the bear's blackened left eye and heard the glass of the eye crack in response.

The bear released an unholy animatronic shriek as its head fell back in pain. Mike continued trying to wail on the bear with the microphone, but the hand pulled him forward before slamming him back again. Now all air was gone, and the human was choking. He dropped the microphone and grabbed at the fingers on his neck. The second hand wasn't frozen, as Mike would've expected, and it grabbed one of his wrists in a vice hold before twisting. He wasn't sure what would come first; him passing out or it breaking his wrist. One or the other surely and spots appeared in his vision.

There was one last thought of Marionette, and then…

The sound of 'Pop Goes the Weasel' rang forth.

Suddenly something crashed into the side of the bear. It staggered, releasing Mike, and stumbled back as the thin, spiderlike figure climbed over and dropped down to the other side. Strings wound their way around the bear's limbs as Marionette drew himself away, legs on its back, strings pulling it tight enough to force both arms and head back. Mike watched in shock and awe- hand on his throat and gasping in air- as Marionette literally puppeteered the bear back. Then he was suddenly shoved by an invisible force that pushed him to the side, in the direction of the stairs. The human looked between the stairs and the Puppet, then dashed out of the room.

Without its music, Marionette was blinded by his own. All the hatred and anger boiled into this moment as he tried to force the bear down. It fell onto its knees and bent back, arching awkwardly, and he almost thought he was about to break through its limbs. This was not the case as the bear's belly suddenly opened wide, as though eagerly anticipating the Puppet to come inside. Just the sight of that open maw struck instant fear. Marionette released his strings and quickly floated to the other side of the room to get his distance. The bear twisted its body and crawled after.

With a wave of his arm, Marionette tore pictures off the wall and threw them at the bear. The bear still stood and continued to sprint after him. He hovered over the couch and as it crawled over the back he set his focus on the nearby TV. Stronger telekinesis threw it towards the bear and broke it over its head. For a moment it seemed to have been halted. For the briefest moment he almost thought that it was broken.

Until its hand reached over the back of the couch and grabbed for him. Marionette backed up until his back abruptly hit the mantle of a fireplace, but it wasn't far enough and in an instant the hand that once held the microphone now clamped on the end of his striped leg. His eyes widened, his music blared, he grabbed onto the end of the mantle to brace himself, and he fought with whatever he had. What that would be was his other leg, which he started kicking with, and struck right into the broken hole that had once been the bear's blackened eye.

The bear shrieked as it had before, and the Puppet knew he found its weak spot. He reached across the mantle and grabbed for the first thing he could- a snow globe. He instantly cracked the object into the side of the bear's head. One of its ears broke off and it was the first sign of concrete damage. Now focusing on destroying what he could, Marionette focused his attention on the bear's hat. Being that it was bolted down, he wouldn't be surprised if it was hiding something underneath, and he wanted it destroyed. He grabbed for it while the bear tried to struggle back.

His fingers started to slide underneath the hat to pry it off. Any second it would be revealed, and he was completely focused. So focused that he didn't notice when the hand slipped further over his leg until the loose wires were against his stripes, pressing in deeply past the fabric.

He started tug the edge of the hat off when a sudden jolt of agonizing pain struck him. All over, rushing through his inner metals, shutting down his mind and causing and of his control to give. It wasn't until he was released to stop the voltage that he realized he had been electrocuted by the bear, and obviously not on accident.

Marionette landed heavily on his back underneath the mantle. He could only twitch for a few seconds and regained his ability to move slowly. His arms returned first, and he used them to drag himself back across the carpet. His eyes never left the black bear, which was now trying to awkwardly get itself over the back of the sofa. It would've been comical if it didn't suddenly hesitate, turn its head, and stare him down. It was as though it suddenly realized how defenseless he was. He couldn't hover, he couldn't teleport, and he didn't know how long it would be until the shock wore off.

Even a lifeless machine knew that the Puppet was defenseless. It was in this moment, seeing him helpless, that it suddenly made a familiar shushing noise. Then it coaxed him again, though not through music, but through words. It _spoke_.

" _ **I've been looking for you… I'm so glad that I found you..."**_

It was _her_ voice, but it wasn't _her._

Marionette scrambled back into the corner that led to the guest room that Mike and him, had stayed in. His mask was contorted in fear and the shaking returned as he tried to fight his own body. He tried to lift himself, but it failed, and teleportation was impossible if he couldn't even lift himself. He watched as the bear finally slipped over the back of the couch and slid to the ground too smoothly. It was slow as it started to crawl after him. Its thick fingers dug into the carpet and dragged its heavy body towards him as it started to close the gap.

With a burst of limited energy, the Puppet crawled back into the bedroom and shut the door. He reached up and felt for a lock on the doorknob, but there wasn't one. The best chance was to hold against the door and somehow hope that he could keep the bear out. He could feel the hands patting the door. Then there was a shuffling and a groaning noise as the bear started to stand at full height. Even though he couldn't see it, he knew that was what he was hearing, and he pressed harder on the door. Of all the times to not be stuck in a room, to want the door to be locked, and yet the option wasn't there.

It was then that the bear's hushed voice whispered through the wood of the door.

" _ **There is room for you inside… Only room for you. Come inside… And I will never let you go…"**_

The Puppet shivered and continued to try holding the door back, but it wasn't enough.

A loud bang shook through the wood of the door. At first it seemed like the bear intended to break down the door, which would've given him time to hide in the wardrobe. Instead, the bear managed to get its hand on the knob, turned it slowly, and then rammed its full weight against it. The door started to slide open and Marionette pushed back, legs against the bedframe, but the force on the other side was unrelenting. An arm reached around the door and the hand started grabbing for him. Panicked, the Puppet dodged the grasp and crawled out of the way, but he knew he was trapped.

Mike had been right; the room was nothing but a dead end, and the further he crawled back the tighter the space became. Soon he was pressed to the wall between the bed and the wardrobe, staring with pinpricks of panic. The bear slammed open the door and began to stagger through. Its tall frame eclipsed the light of the doorway as it turned its head and stared him down. Marionette managed to find his music, but the warning of the tune did nothing to subdue the bear. His threats held no water, and instead the bear shushed him again.

" _ **Shh… It will all be over soon…"**_

The beartrap's front opened and revealed the gaping maw of the storage tank inside. The Puppet shuddered and tried to look for a way out, but it was closing in, and he had nowhere to go. This was it; the bear had won, Mike was gone, and the Puppet's fate would be sealed as soon as he was trapped in the suit. He knew it was too good to last- there was always a catch of some kind. The bear was his new box, and he wouldn't be escaping this time.

The bear was right. It would all be over very soon. It reached out for its prey with its dark fingers.

And then came an almighty **cracking noise**.


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Lullaby**_

 _Chapter Three_

* * *

There was a loud **crack** , and it was the most beautiful sound Marionette had ever heard.

The beartrap swayed as another loud bang rung through, and only then did it fall forward. The Puppet pressed back against the wall to avoid its frame and stared down at it as it laid face down on the carpet.

Behind the downed bear stood Mike with a shovel clutched in his hands. It was clear what he did, but he was not done. He drew back again and slammed the shovel down again, and again, and then raised it to switch to pointing it downwards. Planting a shoe on its back to hold it still, Mike brought the edge of the shovel down between its head and back, aiming for the neck. Strike after strike fell upon the animatronic and every crunch, crack, and break sounded harmonious.

The beartrap's gargled voice was suddenly cut off as with a final strike the shovel hit carpet underneath. The bear's head wobbled and lulled, now entirely detached, and with that the threat was finally silenced.

"Rest in pieces you one-eyed son of a bitch," Mike snarled and threw down the shovel. It fell in the gap that had once been the bear's neck. He was slightly panting, throat still sore from the bear's harsh grasp, but his attention soon changed to the Puppet who was still pressed again the wall. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern as he started to step over the bear.

All at once Marionette was hit with relief and joy, and fear, and panic, a despair, and so much more that was currently overtaking him. He began to shiver and was soon shaking hard, with his internal box letting out a strange display of chiming. It almost sounded like giggling, though was obviously some sort of spasm from his music box. His voice was a contorted mess of half words and distressed sounds- he was hysterical.

Mike crouched down and laid a hand on the striped one's shoulder. It pulled the Puppet slightly out of his growing panic, or just enough that he shoved off the wall and hugged tightly onto the security guard. He embraced as tightly as he could, still shuddering, and Mike put an arm around his back.

"It's over," he tried to reassure. "That thing's only good for scrap metal now. It's never going to touch you again." He was quick to put his other arm under Marionette's legs and then lifted him from the ground. Carefully, he stepped back over the bear and out of the guest room door.

"V-ce… Vo-ice… _Charlie_ …"

It was so faint that Mike almost didn't hear it. Between its low volume and the Puppet's other cries of distress, it was almost impossible to decode any of it, but Mike had heard that much. It sounded like he was trying to tell him something, but then promptly gave up. Perhaps he just assumed that the guard hadn't heard him. They couldn't talk in this state, he decided. Mike said nothing and instead focused on getting his Puppet away from the disabled animatronic.

They were almost at the stairs when he heard thunderous footsteps. "Sounds like we woke up Fritz," Mike cracked as he pulled the Puppet closer. He noticed that the striped one's shaking was starting to finally slow down and his voice was quieter, but it was still much less a voice and instead a blend of various sounds, both music box and animatronic in nature. It was when he stepped into the kitchenette when Fritz came down the stairs so quickly that he nearly fell over himself.

"Mike! Thank goodness you're- You look terrible!" Fritz blurted out. He was clearly a bit too flustered and Mike sent him a weary look.

"Yeah, what else is new? This is how I always look after dealing with Freddy at three in the morning," he flatly answered. He then gestured over with his head. "By the way, I borrowed your shovel… And the living room is pretty much trashed… But the bear's been taken out, so at least that's a victory." Fritz looked down at the Puppet and Mike subconsciously held him tighter. "I need to get him upstairs. I think he was injured and there's no way we're staying down with that thing."

"No… Take him into my room," Fritz offered. The other man seemed surprised and the technician insisted. "I'm not going back to sleep anyway… You're sure the bear's deactivated?" This received a nod of agreement. "I'm going to go check it out and see what I can find off of it." He passed by, giving his friend a sympathetic pat on the back as he went. Mike continued upstairs and to Fritz's bedroom.

At this point, he did still believe that Marionette had been injured and checked him for damage as he sat him down on the bed. There were no cracks, the noises had naturally died down, and while the Puppet was now limp that could've been out of exhaustion. It didn't make Mike feel much better and even now he was still riled as though he needed to do something more. The bear was destroyed, he decapitated it himself, and he still felt on edge- still waiting for it to barge back upstairs. Still he waited for it to pick up its never-ending quest to take away his puppet.

The tears were starting to slow down now. Mike reached out and tried to wipe away the purple with his thumb.

"It didn't get a chance to hurt you, right? I'm willing to cut you open and put you back together, but only if you actually need me too," Mike asked. He tried to sound like he was still joking even when his concern was coming through. Assuming that the electricity's influence would wear off- and not wanting to address it with how exhausted he was- Marionette shook his head. "Good, because if it did then I'd be obligated to go downstairs and set the thing on fire," Mike remarked. Yet all the humor quickly dissipated as he looked down over the Puppet. He felt guilty; he felt like he hadn't done enough.

Marionette was confused when human started to lean downwards and, without much warning, lifted the Puppet to meet him in another embrace. This one felt different: this time it was Mike holding onto Marionette with that protective desperation. The reality of the bear finally hit him head on.

"I'm sorry," Mike quietly confessed. "I shouldn't have left you. It could've trapped you by time I got back. I don't know what I was thinking leaving you with it…" The Puppet was silent and still, and the human held tighter. He hated the feeling that he, like many others, had let Marionette down. He knew that feeling and that disappointment, and though he had left for the right reasons, to get a weapon, coming in when he did was a cold reminder of what his actions could've brought. It had him trapped against a wall, unable to flee; it could've swallowed him whole.

And then Marionette finally reacted. His arms slowly rose, with one draping around Mike's back and the other's fingers sliding into his hair. The Puppet turned his mask until his painted cheek brushed Mike's own and gave a tired trill. All was forgiven, if it needed to be at all. Mike regained a smile, one of relief and exhaustion. A feeling of repose settled on the room. They were alright for now. They didn't have to think about it for now.

The human finally drew back once he heard the distant sound of Fritz moving around. He then sat on the bed beside the animatronic, unwilling to even consider falling asleep now. If he even could with how much of a high he was riding from the excitement of the night. Even excitement like this could bring out endorphins that he didn't expect. It was a few minutes later when Fritz finally entered, and Mike sent another glance towards Marionette. It was clear that he had fallen asleep: his body was limp, with one arm beside him and one draped over his chest, his eyes were closed, and his smile was missing.

"I didn't know the mask changed," Fritz whispered over as to not alarm the Puppet. Mike gave a half smile.

"Yeah, he's just full of surprises," Mike agreed. He then looked back to Fritz and held up a hand, revealing cut along the palm. "You've got anything I can cover this with?"

"Sure. How'd you get that?" the technician asked as he checked it over. It didn't look deep enough for stitches, but it could've easily gotten infected. He went to get a couple of bandages and antibiotic ointment before returning. "Here, let me do it," he insisted as he took the younger's hand. "I only have normal sized ones, so we're going to have to rig three of these into one bigger one. Just bear with me… Was it the bear?"

"It was the door," Mike quipped. "I grabbed the wrong thing while getting the shovel."

"Got it. I hope you didn't dent it too much," Fritz remarked and started to work. During this time, Mike sent another lingering look at Marionette, and could tell that he was fast asleep. He was too exhausted not to be.

"…Hey Fritz?" Mike asked, not looking over. "…You know anything about a guy named Charlie?" Fritz looked to him in confusion and the younger explained. "Marionette said something about someone named Charlie. I couldn't get anything else, but when someone goes through that and is literally speechless except for a name, you know it's of significance." The confusion lingered a few moments, then Fritz's brows furrowed, his eyes widened, he stared blankly, and he dropped his head to work on Mike's hand again. The security guard sent him a suspicious look, "Don't think I didn't notice that."

"Are you sure it was 'Charlie'?" Fritz questioned. "It wasn't another name or anything? It couldn't have been a mistake?"

"No, Fritz, that's the name he gave. He said something about a voice-… The bear had a kid's voice." It was as though the lightbulb flickered on. "The bear was playing off these creepy recordings. I think Marionette must've meant that the bear had Charlie's voice. Do we know a Charlie?" He was becoming more forceful as the technician ignored him to bandage his hand. The frustration grew until Mike suddenly withdrew his hand. As the other looked back up, he narrowed his gaze in suspicion. "…Fritz, I've had a really bad night tonight. If you know something then you need to tell me now, or so help me-."

"Geez, take it easy!" Fritz whispered harshly. He sent a glance towards the closet- one that Mike noticed- and then looked back to his former co-worker. "I'll tell you exactly what I know, just don't talk too loud. We're too close to the closet."

"…What in the hell are you keeping in your closet?!" Mike blurted out in a whisper. The paranoia was growing even after Fritz gave a patient exhale.

"The stuff from Freddy's, just-… Bear with me, okay?" Fritz looked desperate as he lowered his voice to a whisper again. "So, while you went to bed, I decided to look into some of the things I got from Freddy's to hold. One of these was a box of blueprints. I went to look and, surprise, there's the bear you were talking about. It's called Lefty, or L.E.F.T.E." He sat down on the bed beside the man and leaned in to continue speaking. "Everything the Puppet said to you and everything you said to me was totally correct. That bear wasn't made to be an entertainer, it was made to capture the Puppet." He then listed on his fingers, "Lure, encapsulate, fuse, transport, and extract."

" _What_?!" Mike choked in shock. Even with the evidence he was surprised. "Are you sure?!"

"I'm positive. There were codes that link the bear with the Puppet's old security codes. It was made to attract the Puppet and trap him inside… And if the Puppet didn't come, I guess it was made to reverse the programming and find him."

"Oh my God…" Mike dropped his head into his hands. "How long's that thing been following him?" Then his eyes widened in shock. He straightened his back and looked to Fritz with a wild appearance. "How do we know that thing walked from Freddy's to my apartment?! What's to say that someone from Freddy's didn't just drop the damn thing off in the street?!"

"Mike…" Fritz swallowed thickly. "Charlie was _Henry's daughter._ "

All at once something horrific started to settle together in front of him. What had been one bear with a grudge escalated into something only more horrendous. This wasn't an animatronic seeking revenge; it could very well be a plot concocted by someone higher up at Freddy's. Someone like Henry, who was capable of making these machines, and who was possibly disturbed enough to put the voice of his dead child inside of a trap. Mike felt unsafe, and when he felt unsafe he turned to frustration and paranoia- though both emotions seemed rather appropriate now.

"But why Marionette? Let's say this is Henry; what would he get out of trapping him in a bear?" It wasn't even doubt that fueled his questioning, but the insatiable need to know. Mike hated living in the dark at Freddy's, let alone when it followed him home, broke down his door, and tried to take _his_ Puppet. His sweet and warm Puppet who had done nothing wrong since he left the pizzeria.

Fritz seemed to be grasping at straws too. "I don't know! All this seems completely insane! Then again, if we can be honest, Henry must not be playing with a full deck if he kept the business open after his daughter died there. Or, sorry, disappeared." Yet this moment of sarcasm was punctuated by a realization. "I don't know, but maybe it has to do with the others shutting down. The other animatronics recently stopped functioning. That's why the place is closing."

"Why didn't anyone say anything? They just told me they were going out of business, and they've pretty much done that three times already," Mike pointed out. Fritz gave a shrug; they kept their secrets, but neither knew why. "But you said recently. How long would it have taken him to make the beartrap?" At that question, Fritz very thin amount of sureness dropped into a look of horrified realization. Now they were in the same boat again. Even if the bear wasn't after them the whole scenario was widely disturbing to both human and animatronics. Being shoved and trapped into animatronics was literally what the management warned them about.

"So, you think it's Henry," Mike muttered. He now stared at the carpet, arms resting on his legs, looking exhausted and defeated. He released a dry chuckle and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't even know why I'm surprised. I knew Freddy's couldn't help but renege on a deal, and if that came from anyone then it came from the guy pulling the strings behind the scenes." He flinched as Fritz wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulders.

"Just in case, I think you two should consider staying here for a few days. Just until we figure this all out. It might be safer… Or it will be if I can fix that door with something better than a garbage bag." He sent a glance at the back door and winced. "Ugh… But all that glass should be a good thief deterrent, if that slice on your hand is any indication."

"Yeah, thanks…" Mike faced him again with a sincere look of thankfulness. "Really, Fritz, thank you. I didn't mean to drag you into this."

"Hey, don't worry!" Fritz defended with a smile as he stood from the bed. "If I really didn't want to play games with Freddy's, then I would've quit years ago. It had to catch up with me sooner or later." He rubbed his neck as he wandered to the door. "I'll be on the couch. I don't think I'd sleep anywhere near that bear."

"Same here," Mike agreed. Then the technician was out of sight. With an exhausted sigh, Mike slid back and laid across the bed, as he had earlier downstairs, and closed his eyes. Within moments, he fell asleep.

Mike awoke hours later to something poking at his arm. He opened his eyes to see the Puppet leaning over him. If not for him being exhausted, he might've jumped in surprise, but all he could muster was a confused look.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but Fritz needs your help burying something," Marionette alerted. He had his default smile back and sounded as normal as could be. Perhaps because of the morning sunlight that was coming through the window and falling on him. It was a reminder that the night was over, even if it didn't feel far behind them. The human gave a groggy groan and rubbed over his eyes.

"What does he want me to bury, the bear?" Mike asked, followed by a yawn.

"Yes." That was enough to cut the yawn off early. Though as he looked to the Puppet in confusion, said animatronic looked so much calmer in comparison to his horrified panic the night before. "…Of course, that's not all. I thought maybe we could talk once you're more awake," Marionette suggested. His smile slightly wavered. "About last night."

"I'm awake," Mike assured as he started to sit upwards. He rubbed over his throat and neck. "Well, I have one heck of a crick in my neck, but considering I got strangled by Fake Freddy I think I came out pretty well."

"You've got a few bruises." The Puppet reached forward and traced over the dark marks. He then prodded one of the larger ones. "Does this one hurt?"

"Yeah, but feel free to keep poking at it." Mike was just joking, but the Puppet drew back for a moment. Then he reached out instead to gently trail his fingers over the human's cheek. Mike blinked in surprise and looked over in confusion at the seemingly sudden touch of affection. It wasn't that he didn't like it- Marionette's gentle affection was always welcome- but that he knew something was off. Slowly, Marionette dropped his hand and looked down at the comforter he was kneeling on. It took him a few moments before he looked up again and dared to speak. "I was awake when you and Fritz were talking last night."

"You were? You really looked out of it," Mike admitted awkwardly. "Look, I wouldn't normally talk behind your back-."

"I want to tell you about Charlie," Marionette finally admitted. His face fell to a more somber look, but the smile still was there, and he reached out to lay a hand on the security guard's wrist. He needed that much contact and gave a mock of a sigh. "…Charlie was my one true friend when I was a human… But she wasn't a human when we were friends."

"Wait. She was an animatronic?" Mike asked in slight surprise. "Which one?"

"Charlie had a few bodies… She used to change and possess new ones. I don't know how she knew how to do that- none of the others could- but she used that to watch over me. She was a good friend… And after I died, she was the reason I was given this body. She loved this body and she gave it to me because she wanted me to stay and help her … I've never regretted becoming this, Mike. Not when I woke up as a Puppet, not when I lost Charlie, and not even in that alleyway. I think I was the only one who became closer to a second body than their original."

"How'd you lose her?" Mike hesitantly asked. He knew he was treading on dangerous territory, but Marionette responded by rubbing his wrist with that same warmth.

"She moved on to whatever lies beyond this life, something that I couldn't do. No, something I _don't want to do_." His fingers tightened, and Mike decided to readjust their grasp. He pulled his hand free to put his arm around the Puppet, then took the animatronic's hand with his free one. "I do miss her, Mike, but hearing that bear with her voice… I couldn't handle it. It was just too much."

"You don't have to explain anything," Mike insisted as he pulled the striped one closer to his side.

"Charlie was Henry's daughter, as Fritz said," Marionette confirmed as he stared off somberly. "…I don't know if he's coming for me because I'm the last, but he must know about what we shared. Why else would he use her voice? What… What sadistic madman would use a dead child's voice in an elaborate trap? How… How desperate must you be?" His bubbling anger was apparent and, hearing it worded like this, the human also felt it clearly. "He's a monster."

"As far as I'm concerned, Henry can go straight to hell, and he can take his bear with him," Mike remarked, pointing a thumb back towards the window. He then actually looked back and out into the backyard, where Fritz was digging a large hole behind the shed. "…You know, I actually thought you were joking about that." Marionette gave an amused, though tired chime and Mike started to stand. "Let me go help him real quick or he'll finish without me. Then we can get back to an elaborate plan for revenge."

Yet as he went to take a few steps, Marionette caught him by the wrist. "Wait. There's… There's one more thing," the Puppet quietly said. Mike looked down to him as he tightened his grasp. Odd emotions fluttered on the mask and eventually landed on a small, shy smile. "I didn't get a chance to thank you last night."

"You don't have to, Stripes."

"No, I do," the Puppet insisted firmly. "You could've lost your life last night, you nearly lost your home, and I got you tangled in all of these terrible strings. I want to give you a real thank you, Mike, because ignoring that I was incohesive last night… I think you deserve more than words." He then gently tugged the security guard down towards him. Mike leaned over the bed, brows furrowing in confusion, and was about to ask when the Puppet leaned in.

Marionette pressed his porcelain lips to the human's cheek. The warmth that spread from it was unexpected, but needed, though he didn't realize how much so until he was receiving it. It felt nice, even if it suddenly threw the nature of their relationship into question. Though after the day before Mike had trouble caring about any question of morality. Especially when he was subdued by warm fabric and cooled porcelain.

Slowly, the Puppet drew back and gave him a small smile. He was watching expectantly, looking for a reaction, and Mike reached out for his mask.

"You're something else, you know that?" Mike asked. He received a trill and chuckled lightly, rubbing over a ruby cheek with his thumb. "I don't do this to be thanked. I do this because I like you way too much for my own good."

"That makes two of us," Marionette said with a quiet trill. "…Although I must admit that you are the most 'good' that's ever come to me." He nuzzled into the human's grasp and trailed his fingers along the back of Mike's hand. All that affection pouring out. It went beyond showing thankfulness; it showed adoration that Mike wasn't used to receiving.

"Hey!" Fritz called in from the back door. He leaned in only a moment after Mike drew back from Marionette, not noticing anything as he called over. "Are you going to help me bury the body, or am I going to get stuck hiding the evidence?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Mike called back. He sent a last look towards the Puppet. "When I get back we'll figure out what our next move is. You sit tight." The animatronic nodded in agreement and the security guard followed the technician out into the backyard. There was still so much to think about. If Mike was staying here, he would have to figure out what to do with the apartment and his things- since they might all be gone right now. He would need to still balance work and this, and that was with the possibility of someone coming after them again.

" _I am so screwed_ ," Mike confirmed. Whether it be the threat of coming danger or the realization that he was in way too deep, he was forced to accept it. Not that he was trying to dig himself out. He was handed the shovel from the night before.

"It's all easy. I throw the pieces in and you just make sure it's all covered," Fritz explained. "…And then I throw down grass seed and hope it doesn't look too obvious." A good enough plan in the short term.

Apparently, Fritz knew how to dismantle animatronics, as he had taken it apart and was currently tossing it piece by piece into the hole.

"It's definitely not like a normal animatronic on the inside," Fritz explained as he dragged over a large, metal tank from behind the shed. "See this? This is the storage tank it was going to trap the Puppet in."

Mike whistled as he looked over the now separated tank. It didn't look that big outside of the bear and it would've been a tight squeeze inside that bulky bear. "To think, you couldn't even see it from the outside. Could we have gotten it back open once it locked?"

"Uh… Yeah, but it would've been hell. We would've had to get it out of the bear, we would've had to melt these latches- they're like springlocks, except they lock and they're a pain to get unlocked again. Then we would need to pry it open-."

"So, realistically, no," Mike answered. "Like: we would've tried and probably could've, but this thing wasn't meant to reopen."

"Honestly, I don't know. There might be a tool to open this, but I don't know what it is," Fritz explained. He then sent the tank down in the hole. Mike began to fill it with dirt to make sure it was packed with anything other than the Puppet. He then continued to bury the animatronic under the dirt. With every scoop, the bear was lost further to the ground. The satisfaction of dropping dirt onto that one-eyed face, glaring at the yellow eye that stared back up. This animatronic broke into his home, hunted them across town, nearly strangled him, tried to steal his Puppet, and now here was his revenge: sentencing it to a life under the dirt.

This should have been the end of the whole ordeal, but Mike had a feeling he wasn't. Even as he patted down the dirt, listening to Fritz dusting off his hands, he couldn't help but think of Henry. If their suspicions were correct and Henry had sent the bear, then this wasn't over. Mike wanted answers, even if he wasn't willing to seek them out. He couldn't afford to put himself out there or they could be found, if it was true that they were being followed. This meant that Mike only had once chance for answers and that was through the man standing with him.

"Hey Fritz, quick question. I want you to be honest with me," Mike said as he looked down at the loose soil that now hid the bear that had attacked them. "You know Henry better than I do."

"I barely know anything about him," Fritz pointed out with slight amusement.

"That's still better than I do. Anyway," Mike pointed out. He then hesitated a moment before growing serious and looking to the technician. "Let's say that this thing really was sent by Henry… Is he the type who'd track us down and try again?"

It was the one question that Fritz didn't expect. He looked to Mike in surprise and in return the younger man continued to pat down the dirt and smooth it out. Then Fritz was forced to think about it. Henry had always been the type to hide what he could instead of trying to fix it. If he knew that the bear failed then he could make something else, or worse, already had something else to send out instead. Or he could come himself to finish the job. Thinking about everything he knew about Freddy's, Fritz finally had a rather realistic answer that he knew the man would agree with.

"I hope not."

 _ **END**_

… **For now.**


End file.
